The common blackbird has disappeared from about 50 percent of Czech gardens, following the outbreak of a dangerous mosquito-carried African bird disease in the summer of last year, the Czech Union for Nature Conservation said on Thursday. The blackbird (Turdus merula), which used to be the country’s most common garden species, has become nearly extinct in Prague and Central Bohemia after being hit by the Usutu virus. The disease, which can also be transmitted to other bird species, was first detected in the country in 2011.

In the period from 1990 to 2017, 13 out of 20 breeding bird species typically found in a Dutch city declined in number, precisely in the urban areas. Many breeding birds depending on or commonly found in an urban environment are on the decline. This applies to 13 out of the 20 urban bird species, including the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), the western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula), the common blackbird (Turdus merula) and the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris). The crested lark (Galerida cristata) has even fully disappeared from the city.

The blackbird population in the Netherlands is not doing well, according to Sovon bird research. Sovon's interim figures show that 15 percent fewer blackbirds were spotted in the country so far this year, NOS reports. "We see tens of thousands less than last year. That means that you really hear fewer black birds in the neighborhood", Albert de Jong of Sovon said to the broadcaster. The blackbird is threatened by the Usutu virus, a virus transmitted by mosquitos. In 2012 this virus led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of blackbirds in Germany.

THE number of smaller birds across Hampshire represents a “worrying trend” according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. According to the charity, there are almost 30 per cent fewer blackbirds in the county, which follows the national crash in numbers of the house sparrow and starling. Across the south east, blackbirds are down 22 per cent, and robins dropped 18 per cent, while sightings of the tiny wren went down 14 per cent in the region.

There has been a steep decline in bird populations in Balochistan (one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Its provincial capital and largest city is Quetta), said conservator of forests and wildlife Balochistan Sharifuddin on Wednesday. The official confirmed that there has been a decline in the overall population of sparrows among other birds in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. The revelation comes just a day after bird lovers marked the World Sparrow Day on Tuesday (March 20). “Even crow, which was a common bird, has decreased in number,” he remarked.